'Alix and Nicky: The Passion of the Last Tsar and Tsarina:' A book review

Alix and Nicky: The Passion of the Last Tsar and Tsarina
Virginia Rounding
St. Martin’s Press, 400 pp., $29.99

Reviewed by Jean Graham

He was the last czar in the 300-year-old reign of the Romanov family. She was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. But unlike many royal marriages arranged for political advantage, the union of Nicholas II and Alexandra was a love match, proven by the extensive correspondence between the two that has been carefully analyzed by London-based writer/translator Virginia Rounding, whose previous books include “Catherine the Great” and “Grandes Horizontales.”

As much as she loved the dashing heir to the Russian throne, Alix initially turned down his marriage proposal because she refused to convert from Lutheranism to Orthodoxy, which was absolutely required for a czarina.

But Nicky continued to press his case and, eventually, she not only capitulated but fully embraced her new religion, which ultimately got her into trouble because she was so mesmerized by the discredited mystic, Grigory Rasputin.

The early years of the marriage, which coincided with the early years of Nicholas’ reign (he assumed the throne at 26 following the unexpected death of his father) were happy, blessed by four daughters and finally, a son, Alexei (only a male child could inherit the throne). Both Nicky and Alix were shy, even with one another, so they communicated a great deal through letter writing. Oddly, the parents often communicated with their children through letters as well.

Although their relationship remained happy, life dealt the couple a difficult hand. Alix was often ill, spending long periods of time in bed, perhaps because of a hereditary heart condition.

Alexei suffered from an inherited disease, hemophilia, which caused his parents, especially Alix, to turn to faith for comfort. Rasputin took advantage of the czarina’s vulnerability, then pressed her to influence her husband’s choice of ministers and, once Nicky had assumed control of Russian troops during World War I, even battle plans, all the while minimizing growing discontent among the Russian people.

Rounding keeps the story moving through the correspondence, from descriptions of the over-the-top lifestyle of the royal family to Alix’s incessant pressure on Nicky to be the autocrat that previous czars had been — despite increasing social unrest in the country.

Ultimately, it all came crashing down tragically, but the love story of Nicky and Alix continued through to their bitter, unhappy end.